Showdown
Showdown was one of many groundbreaking online features of Big Buck HD when it was released. It allowed players to connect with up to 3 other people around the country, and they would shoot a randomly selected site independently. After each site, their scores would be compared, and the winner of the Site would have his or her replay shown on all participating units. Whoever came in first place at the end of each match would win that match. Changes 2012-2015 Each match would last 2 Treks (default cost is $2). If the machine allowed it, players would have an option to participate in a Showdown Tourney for an extra dollar. Showdown Tourney prize pools would have a maximum prize of $4, and the winner would take all of it. Many active players would be irrationally annoyed if someone entered their match who wasn't participating in a Showdown Tourney. People like this were jokingly referred to as "Timmy's," and they would usually play at places not really considered bars. These would include places such as arcades, family fun centers, or other family-friendly venues. If a player starts a match and nobody is found right away, they would be put into a "Practice Mode" until the machine picked up a signal that somebody else has chosen Showdown. It would then send the player into the lobby, where it would find players and display their name, icon, and where they were playing at. Originally, the "Let's Get Started" button would tell the machine to stop looking for additional players and start the match immediately. In 2013, however, this was changed and all current players had to shoot the button to begin the match. Showdown and Showdown Tourneys were shut down on March 18, 2015 to free up server traffic for the WILD update to Big Buck HD. 2015-2018 On April 1, 2015, Showdown returned, but with changes that annoyed many dedicated players. With the new Ranked Play option, Showdown was moved to Arcade mode to get more people to play it. Since Arcade mode is not supposed to be a very quick experience for novice players, several features had to be removed. Showdown Tourneys would no longer exist, and you would not be able to log in either. Showdown's price was also shortened from $2 to $1, which reflected the cost of a standard Trek in Arcade mode (4 Sites and 1 Bonus instead of 2 Treks). In August 2015, a new user interface was created for Showdown. Players would no longer have to participate in Practice Mode and would immediately be dropped into the new lobby, which allowed people to enter their name and choose an icon, or swipe their card if they already have an account. If no players were found within the time limit, players would have to play by themselves for the entirety of the match, or be matched up with ghost players, who would have previously recorded gameplay that would reflect which sites were chosen. Many dedicated players were still upset over the loss of Showdown Tourneys. When v8.37 was released on April 29, 2018, Showdown was shut down on all game units due to the lack of support for the new Buckzilla sites and Bonuses. It is currently unknown whether or not it will come back, but if it shows up in the game, it will crash when selected. v8.50 will default Showdown to off in the game software and the database when it is released.